TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s first three F-35B stealth fighter jets arrived Thursday at an air base in the south of the country, its latest move to fortify defenses as tensions in the region grow.

The Japanese Air Self Defense Force on Thursday deployed its first three F-35B stealth fighters in southwestern Japan.

Spain has formally abandoned plans to acquire the American F-35 stealth fighter, opting instead to go “all-in” on the European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) sixth-generation program. -While the move provides a much-needed political and financial boost to the embattled European initiative,